NZD/USD clings to daily gains, trades around 0.7200
- NZD/USD started the new week on a strong footing.
- Upbeat data from China helped kiwi gather strength.
- US Dollar Index posts modest daily gains, stays below 92.00.
The NZD/USD pair erased nearly all of its weekly gains on Friday and closed the week virtually unchanged. With the strong macroeconomic data releases from China helping kiwi gather strength during the Asian trading hours, the pair rose above 0.7200 but seems to have gone into a consolidation phase. As of writing, NZD/USD was up 0.32% on the day at 0.7198.
DXY stays below 92.00
The National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on Monday that Retail Sales in February surged by 33.8% on a yearly basis, compared to analysts' estimate of 32%. Additionally, Industrial Production in the same period expanded by 35.1%, again beating analysts' estimate of 30%.
In the meantime, the US Dollar Index (DXY) is up modestly at 91.80 during the European trading hours, making it difficult for NZD/USD to preserve its bullish momentum.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing Index will be the only data featured in the US economic docket. In the meantime, the S&P 500 Futures are up 0.25% on the day. In case Wall Street's main indexes manage to open higher on Monday, risk flows could start dominating the financial markets in the second half of the day and put the greenback under selling pressure.
On Tuesday, Westpac Consumer Surve for the first quarter from New Zealand will be looked upon for fresh impetus.
Technical levels to watch for